Remembering the '69 'dogs

Every now and then, one of the outstanding sports teams from the past is remembered and honored by its high school during pre-game ceremonies or at halftime of the sport that it excelled in.

If you just so happen to be headed to the Northwestern at Northern Lehigh game tonight, you'll be able to see the “10 and O Here We Go" 1969 Slatington High Bulldog team and the only undefeated football squad in the school's history celebrating their 40th Anniversary.

Team members will have a tailgate party prior to the game, be honored at halftime and get together to continue reminiscing about their accomplishments at the Slatedale Fire Company on Saturday night.

The Bulldogs have had some great teams in recent years that included a trip to the PIAA Class AA Championship game. Back then, there was no state championship or this team might have been there also.

With a new coach, coming off a 9-1 season, there were still high expectations of this club. And it didn't disappoint either.

Paul Turner had taken over the reigns and he knew right off the bat that he would find out how good the club was before it entered Lehigh Valley League play when it traveled to Pennridge for the season opener.

Pennridge was ranked 10th in the state according to a poll of coaches and sportswriters so it would take a great effort for the Bulldogs to start off on the right foot.

Pennridge had a bit of an advantage because it had a game under its belt already, a win over Neshaminy.

The Bulldogs rose to the occasion on defense, however, and pulled out a 13-6 victory and that was just the start of what would be an outstanding season.

The Bulldogs used a run-and-shoot offense with junior Don Rubright at quarterback. Robert Kemmerer and Lou Kern at the halfback slots and co-captain Glenn Parry at fullback.

The strong line up front was made up of Wayne Kern and Karl Andreas at ends, Dave Kuhnsman and co-captain Ivan Weiss at tackles Ron Rodd and Dan Papay at guards and Carl Yenser at center.

In the win opening win, Kemmerer had more yardage on the ground than the entire Pennridge team.

Up next for the Bulldogs would be Parkland, the only team to beat them the previous season. Not this time however, as Slatington trounced the Trojans 39-6. A fumbled punt and another turnover by the Trojans enabled the Bulldogs to capitalize for scores early and Parkland never recovered.

The Bulldogs traveled to Lehighton to face the Jim Wentz-coached Indians the following week and had one of their toughest contests. They ran their record to 3-0, however, with a 12-0 win before 5,300 fans (that would be some crowd nowadays).

Glenn Parry's one-yard run to cap an 88-yard drive and a 95-yard interception return for a TD by Dick Oswald proved to the difference.

The Bulldogs breezed to a 29-0 win over Emmaus the following week after a slow start thanks to a couple of TDs by Kemmerer.

In week 5, the Bulldogs traveled to Northampton. The Konkrete Kids were considered to be the most likely threat to dethrone the 1968 LVL champs, but it didn't happen.

Despite Northampton taking an early lead, Slatington still managed a 25-16 victory.

Catasauqua fell victim to the Bulldogs the following week as Rubright threw for well over 300 yards in a 54-0 triumph.

Rubright continued his dominance the following week as he passed for six Slatington touchdowns in a 60-6 rout of Whitehall that also saw the Bulldog defense intercept five passes.

Slatington had a bit of a test on a wet field at Stroudsburg, but still managed a 22-12 win to reach 8-0 on the season. Only a non-league contest against a highly-touted Upper Perkiomen team and a Thanksgiving Day battle with Palmerton stood in the way of the perfect season.

The Bulldogs and Upper Perk were both ranked pretty highly, but it was a great showing by Andreas that lifted the locals to a 14-0 win. He intercepted a pass and carried it down to the Upper Perk four to set up one of the touchdowns.

It was a great Thanksgiving for the Bulldogs as their 62-0 win over the Blue Bombers was their largest margin of victory ever over their archrivals.

A second straight Lehigh Valley League title and some dominating wins which included five shutouts have been remembered for quite some time.

Ahhh, the memories .... enjoy them this weekend fellas. You deserve it.